NEW ORLEANS — Former Westlake High and Ohio State football star Kevin Houser is among a group of current and former New Orleans Saints that is out nearly $1.9 million after the head of a Louisiana movie studio failed to repay the players’ investment in the studio.
The studio head says he intends to repay the group — after he finds other investors.
Houser, a long snapper who was released by the Saints on June 29, says he invested $125,000 in the studio.
He said he has been contacted by a law enforcement agency that he refused to identify.
Hall of Fame quarterback Archie Manning told The Times-Picayune of New Orleans that he has been contacted by the FBI about the investments.
Both the FBI and the U.S. attorney’s office have refused to confirm or deny that an investigation has started.
Coach Sean Payton, quarterback Drew Brees and Manning were among those who bought what they thought were state film industry tax credits. A state official, however, said the studio never applied for them.
In a statement issued by a public relations firm Friday, Wayne Read, chief executive of Louisiana Film Studios LLC, said money became tight because of higher-than-expected expenses and lower-than-expected revenue during the project’s startup.
According to a lawsuit filed in state court in suburban Jefferson Parish, where both the studio and the Saints are based, 47 Construction Co., owned by Houser’s wife, Kristen, and a partner, Toni Wendel, claims Read has not paid the company $681,418 for renovation work done on the studio.
Read said he intends to settle that suit.
Rob Couhig, an attorney for Houser, said Read has long been promising to repay investors.
“All we want is for our people to get repaid,” Couhig said. “All they want is to be made whole.”
A list of investors accompanying a copy of the proposals that was obtained July 2 by The Associated Press identified 27 people. Among them are defensive lineman Charles Grant, with a $425,000 investment, Payton, $144,000; Brees, $100,000; and Manning, $100,000.
The investments, which were due to be repaid on March 31, basically would have given the investors a 33 percent return on their money.
“The Saints players made their investments in November 2008. I was hoping to repay their investments in five months,” Read said in the statement. “Unfortunately, the current economy is the worst seen in the U.S. in many decades and has slowed my ability to repay the investors as quickly as I would like.”
Read said he intends to repay the investors with either cash or with tax credits acquired from a broker. He also said he hopes to reach an agreement with other investors shortly.

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